


20th Day of Winter - Friday Night Lights

by unjaundiced



Series: Winter Spirits [24]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unjaundiced/pseuds/unjaundiced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best laid plans might not always be legal, but they are made with good intent. Iruka gets to have a focus chapter!!!! And a writing style change.<br/>Set the year after Snow Daze. They're 18 and 19. Kushina 27, Mikoto...28, lol.</p>
            </blockquote>





	20th Day of Winter - Friday Night Lights

_Wednesday Night_

  
Iruka sat straddling the catwalk sporting a giant wreath with a copper wire dangling from the corner of his mouth. He was squinting in the weak light and trying to strip a set of cables so he could splice them together. Far below, Izumo was acting as his spotter and was busy making sure people didn't cross the cones warning them of a worker above them. The skeleton frame began to shake and Iruka looked up.  
  
"Hey, I got the stuff you needed,” Kotetsu called, scooting towards him. The steel structure swung harder.  
  
"Yeah, thanks. Go slow or we'll hit the building and break all these nice big expensive windows none of us can afford to replace,” Iruka called back, swinging a leg. Kotetsu grinned at him.  
  
"We could always run fast,” the spiky-haired teen offered.  
  
"Don't you do anything!” Izumo shouted from below. “I'm watching you!”  
  
"Spoilsport.” Kotetsu stuck out his tongue and lifted the coil of lights from his neck, groaning as the weight was released. Iruka rolled his eyes and attached the female electrode to the exposed section of wire before taping it off.  
  
"Electrician 100. We could start our own business,” he declared, unspooling the stainless steel ties holding the sectional light mat in a roll.  
  
"Or we could accidentally electrocute ourselves and fund a funeral home with our life insurance,” Kotetsu quipped, jumping as he accidentally poked his finger with a protruding wire.  
  
"Or we could start our own business and _not_ die,” Iruka countered, binding loose wire strands together with ties.  
  
"Or you two could _hurry it up_ while we're still young!” Izumo shouted.  
  
"It's coming, it's coming,” Kotetsu shouted, waving at him. “Go... Go tell someone to stay away or something.”  
  
"You know, Ko-kun. This is kind of a cool idea. I wish we'd thought of it before,” Iruka commented, screwing metal harnesses to the heavy cabling. He leaned out and caught the rope dangling next to him, tying it around the mess of wires and tugging. “Take it up!”  
  
"Aye-aye!” someone shouted from the roof as the rope started to climb.  
  
"We didn't know what we were doing before,” Kotetsu mumbled, tightening a light. “Technically, we probably still don't.”  
  
"As long as we don't blow anything up or get caught doing so, we'll be fine,” the other boy promised, feeding the wires up the side of the building.  
  
"Man,” Izumo breathed when they came down at last, hopping up and down and rubbing his hands together. “I can't believe we got permission to do that.”  
  
"We didn't.” Iruka said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Izumo froze.  
  
"So that means we have to start disappearing now,” Kotetsu added cheerfully, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder.  
  
"You know the drill, boys.” Iruka started walking away quickly. “Scatter!”  
  
The remaining two bolted in opposite directions, Kotetsu laughing heartily and Izumo cursing under his breath. Not long after they disappeared, a security guard appeared and stood where Izumo had been not too long before. He curtly nodded at passers-by and warned them to be aware of the cones and to have a good evening.  
  
He didn't think anything of the girl in the beige trench coat that appeared from the dead end alleyway where the maintenance access door was or the boys carrying duffel bags as they departed the building which was primarily a giant glass showroom. He was too busy trying to shoo away the group of preschoolers that had descended upon his knees and who were asking a lot of questions he couldn't really understand. By the time a red-haired woman in a long dress came to bundle them away, all suspicious folk had long since disappeared.

  
  
_Thursday Night_

  
Iruka was sitting on the railing of the Hatake house trying to find the break in the wire that powered the fairy lights wrapped around the porch. He knew it wasn't a light bulb issue as they all turned on when the wire was kinked in _just_ the right way so he knew it had frayed somewhere within the insulation itself. He just had to keep twisting every section of the wire until he hit upon the part that affected a change.  
  
He had his wire cutters out and was about to cut the cord when—  
  
Someone grabbed his arm and pulled the wire away from him. He blinked and looked up in surprise. He hadn't heard anyone coming.  
  
"Idiot! Do you have a death wish or something! How can you be so reckless!” Kakashi looked scared—like he'd ran all the way up the stairs. He was still wearing his outside shoes and his mother would be mad.  
  
"What?” Iruka could only blink dumbly. “Your shoes...”  
  
"Who cares about the shoes!” Kakashi barked, shaking Iruka's arm slightly. “You _do_ realize that not only are you sitting on a thin piece of wood two storeys up, but you also were about to cut a live wire that's connected to _how many_ circuits without turning off the breaker! Even if the shock didn't kill you, the fall potentially could!”  
  
Iruka shook him off, glaring fiercely. “Okay so maybe I didn't think it all the way through, but there's no reason to shout at me! I may not be a genius like yourself but I'm not stupid, you know.”  
  
Kakashi's lips thinned and he stepped back, dropping the wire to the floor. “Fine.”  
  
He walked away.

  
  
  
_Friday Night_

  
"I don't even want to do this anymore,” Iruka growled, still pissed off at Kakashi.  
  
"Come _on_ , Iruka-kun! After all we went through?” Anko took a vicious bite of her dango stick before waving it at him. “We have to. I won't let you chicken out.”  
  
"I can't even remember a time when you two fought before,” Kotetsu mumbled as he stuffed a senbei in his mouth, spraying crumbs as he spoke. “When did things get so serious with you two?”  
  
"Kakashi's just a huge jackass,” Iruka spat, shoving his hands in his pocket. Kurenai shivered and stamped her feet.  
  
"Yeah he is, I'll give you that,” she muttered through puffs of steam. “Ugh, why is it so cold?”  
  
"Because it's winter?” Anko offered, humming around her hot dango. “You should eat something hot. It's so delicious right now.”  
  
"I'm trying to watch my figure,” the older girl mumbled, looking across the street towards the coffeehouse with regret. They were advertising gingerbread lattes and fresh baked spice cake. Diets were so cruel.  
  
"Mah, you'd better or your figure will run away and no one will be able to see you anymore,” Kakashi's voice purred. Kurenai spun around and tried to punch him. Typically, he dodged and she struck Asuma instead.  
  
"Woman! What is with you and hitting!” Asuma coughed, rubbing the sore spot. Kurenai shrugged.  
  
"So why are we all here anyhow,” Genma grumbled, slouching up the group. Gai and Ibiki trailed after him, one a looming figure of darkness and the other a larger-than-life figure of effervescent and light. It was a little disconcerting to see.  
  
"It's supposed to be a surprise,” Izumo piped up, sipping hot cocoa. “But not everyone's here yet.”  
  
Loud chatter interrupted their conversation and a familiar group of Konoha preschoolers came running towards them waving their mittens and shouting. Kushina and Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, pulled up the rear, waving along with their charges. Kakashi raised a brow as Naruto crashed into his legs and proceeded to try climbing him.  
  
Ebisu, the quiet weird kid from Class 12-C, sidled up to Iruka and whispered something in his ear. Irritation gnawed at the gray-haired teen as he watched Iruka leaning in and nodding about something. Iruka's eyes snapped up and met his, narrowing before he looked away. Kakashi frowned.  
  
"Okay everyone, it's almost time for the Christmas lights to come on!” Iruka called, clapping his heads for their attention. The children milled about aimlessly, giggling and whispering amongst each other.  
  
Then the whole ward turned dark.  
  
Some people shouted in surprise and bumped into each other. A moment later and the world was bright again as lights up and down the street started to flash in rainbow hues, forming patterns of leaves and falling snowflakes. Office lights flashed off and on to form words and in falling showers of flickering patterns. It was as if the whole district was singing silently.  
  
Then it was.  
  
Somewhere a loudspeaker caught and music began to play; a cheerful sounding music that devolved into chanting which welled into a familiar fight song. The building showcase building began to flash as the other lights on the street arrowed in towards it. Santa figures somersaulted and karate kicked their way around the frame of the building as elf figures appeared to scale the sheer glass walls and arranged themselves into rows. The people inside the building peered out curiously, some running out to see what was appearing on its face.  
  
The figures began to hold up cards with letters on it and students on the street began to cheer as messages flashed in variations of: GOOD LUCK ON EXAMS! EVERYBODY FIGHT! MERRY CHRISTMAS!  
  
Kakashi snuck a suspicious glance at Iruka and found the other boy watching him steadily. It was something of a major time of year with all the students entering their entrance exam period, many giving up most—if not all—of their free time to studying and cram school. Kakashi himself, a student in Konoha's accelerated pre-med program, faced barrage after barrage of relentless testing for second-year placement. Had Iruka really done what he thought he'd done?  
  
Kakashi shuffled closer to his friend and leaned in to mutter, “And here I thought what you did on the porch was crazy.”  
  
Iruka grinned. “You're welcome.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally posted on Livejournal in 2011 as part of the annual 12 or 25 Days of Christmas challenge. The story takes place by years and utilises Japanese honourifics as a necessity. I tried to use canonical names wherever possible and created original character names as needed.
> 
> Due to the conditions at the time, the writing is a bit clunky but will largely remain unedited.
> 
>  
> 
>  **Notes**  
>  Fight songs are very popular and they're cheers that people learn to get amped up. You can have them for sports teams, companies or just about anything. People also like to sing them in bars. Fight essentially means “try your best” or “fight on”. The Korean word for “try your best” is 화이팅 (hwaiting) or 아자아자 화이팅! (aja aja hwaiting!) which is sounds like “fighting” and is essentially the same concept. Aja may also be used alone just as “faito” or “ganbare” can be used alone in Japanese.
> 
> Exams/entrance exams are almost entirely on a rolling basis but Japanese school terms normally start in the spring so your last chance to get an application in before the new term is normally during the winter. The Konoha kids only have to go through the first entrance exam in preschool since they're an elevator school, rather than having to retake at every tier. But they do have to take updated tests every so many terms to make sure they can stay in the school.
> 
> A lot of kids exhaust themselves trying to push their practice exam scores up and collapse and depression are not uncommon. Some kids will spend their vacations at cram school alone.


End file.
